Michigan author sets series of novels in Port Clinton

Longtime Port Clinton tourist Roger D. Hess of Michigan holds his book, “Freaked Out at Wrigley Field” which is set in Port Clinton.(Photo: Submitted)

PORT CLINTON - A longtime tourist who fell in love with Port Clinton has made the town the setting of his first book.

Roger D. Hess of Michigan wrote “Freaked Out at Wrigley Field,” a novel for middle grade readers about three brothers from Port Clinton and their adventurous attempt to visit Chicago’s Wrigley Field. The book, which was released last spring, is the first book in the Stadium Adventure Series. All of the books in the series are set in Port Clinton.

“The boys are on a quest to see their first major league baseball game in a major league park,” Hess said. “They live in Port Clinton and attend school at Jefferson Elementary, which is based on Bataan Elementary.”

Hess has had an eclectic career in the writing field. He has worked as a journalist, greeting card writer, screenwriter, speech writer, ghostwriter, advertising and marketing copywriter, and public relations expert. Now, he is also a novelist.

He decided early on to set the book in Port Clinton.

“We visited every year with our kids for 10 or 12 years and fell in love with the area. We love to visit downtown. We eat at the restaurants and buy caramel corn,” Hess said. “We just like the whole water situation in Port Clinton. We consider the town our second home. So when it came to the book, I thought I’d set it there.”

The second book in the series, "Lambeau Leap," highlights Port Clinton’s True Lay Stadium and will be released in the fall.

“The books are about stadiums and a kid’s love of stadiums and sports,” Hess said.

“Freaked Out at Wrigley Field” is the first in the Stadium Adventure Series of books for middle grade readers written by Roger D. Hess. Each book is set in Port Clinton.(Photo: Submitted)

But Hess hopes to inspire kids with a powerful message about flaming their passion for sports: You don’t have to be good at sports to find your niche in them.

“Just because some kids aren’t gifted enough to grow up and become a professional athlete doesn’t mean they can’t still love sports,” Hess said. “It doesn’t mean you can’t be involved in sports. There are so many ways. You can be an announcer, statistician or even an usher at a stadium. There are other ways to stay close to the thing you love.”

Hess has a secondary purpose for writing the books beyond just inspiring kids to love sports. He also wants to make sure kids don’t go hungry. A portion of the sale of each book will be donated to the U. S. hunger relief organization “Feeding America.”

Although “Freaked Out at Wrigley Field” was released just a few months ago, donations from book sales have already provided 1,600 meals for kids.

“I hope to do more and be part of the solution,” Hess said. “We live in a country so rich and blessed, and kids go bed without enough to eat. That shouldn’t be a problem here. It breaks my heart.”

“Freaked Out at Wrigley Field” sells for $11.99 for the paperback version and $6.99 for the e-book. The book will be sold at Bassett's Market in Port Clinton and Bellevue, can be ordered through local bookstores, and is available online.